Goldings Personalities 2

Mr. A. E. Brooks

M A. E. brooks, who is a native of Hertford, served his apprenticeship as a painter and
decorator with Messrs. Richard Ginn and Son, and in fact spent the first 10 years of his
working life with that firm. Prior to his appointment to the Goldings staff in May, 1935,
Mr. Brooks worked for himself, as at that time unemployment was at its peak, and provided
one had the initiative it was easier to get a living on your own, than to get a job working for
someone else. During the Second World War, Mr. Brooks became housemaster of Cairns;
house, and served with the Home Guard (Goldings Platoon), under Sgt. Penny (ex-Printing
Department). With the shortage of staff during the war years, many jobs came under the
jurisdiction of Mr. Brooks, including games master, tractor driver, and lawn mowing, to
name but a few. As with all progressive units, there have been many changes here at Goldings
during the past 26 years, and one of the more recent has been the formation of our Painting
and Decorating department as a craft teaching unit, and in January, 1957, Mr. Brooks was appointed head of this very
popular department. This meant of course that apart from being responsible for the general decorating of the home and
workshops, he would also be responsible for the training of boys as future painters and decorators. Already there are quite
a number of boys who can thank Mr. Brooks for the start he has given them, also there must be quite a few boys who have
realized rather suddenly that painting isn't a job 'anyone can do'. I think all members of the staff are agreed that in a job
of this nature, a ready sense of humour is essential, and surely Mr. Brooks is not lacking in this capacity. In fact some
members of the staff are not always certain whether the story of the moment is 'fact' or 'fiction'. Mr. Brooks is also a very
keen gardener, and it is not unusual for him to be seen working away on his allotment before the majority of us have
thought about rising in the mornings. The parish of Christ Church, Bengeo, also has a lot to thank Mr. Brooks for, as he is
their churchwarden, and has been lay vice-chairman of the Parochial Church Council since 1953. These appointments do
not mean a couple of committee meetings a year, but lots of hard work and the forfeit of many hours of spare time. In
conclusion I would like to suggest that should Mr. Brooks ever decide to register a family motto he could do a lot worse
than adopt our School motto 'The End Crowns the Work'.

N. T. P.
Goldonian Spring 1961

Mr. W Purkis

This term's personality has spent the last twenty-nine years plus in our Printing Department,
for Mr. Purkis joined the staff on the I7th March, 1930, which is a long while ago by any
standards. During his service with the School, Mr. Purkis has not been one to seek the
limelight in anyway, but he has certainly been a thoroughly reliable and conscientious master
in the machine section of the Printing Department. I think I can say, without any fear of
contradiction, that Mr. Purkis has never refused to 'have a go' at any project that has
confronted him. For that reason, if for no other, he has always been very popular with staff
and boys. During the First World War, Mr. Purkis served with the 51st Battalion,
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment, and after his demobilisation returned to his
civilian job as machine minder at Messrs. Simsons, Hertford, who are now Messrs. Simson
Shand. During the last war he had a dual role, that of duty officer and fire officer at the
School, and also a member of the Home Guard. Incidentally, Mr. Purkis's platoon sergeant was Mr. G. W. Penny, who
until his retirement four years ago was in charge of our machine section. Pre-war, Mr. Purkis was a member of the
Goldings Bowls Club (1932-9), and also a member of the Drama Group Committee, his particular line was 'props'. Yes,
many old boys have no doubt thanked Mr. Purkis in their hearts if not personally, for all the help he gave them when he
started them on the road to print.

N. T. P.
Goldonian Winter 1959

Mr. S. C. Whitbread.

In February, 1931, Mr. S. G. Whitbread became a member of the School Staff, in the capacity
of boilerman. He brought with him considerable skills of a sporting nature. His footballing
ability was above average and a great asset to the School's team of that time. Staff and boys
combined in those days to form a team entered in the Hertford and District Junior League,
and League and Cup trophies came regularly to the School. He proved a very useful cricketer
and, indeed, a sound performer in every form of sport he attempted. He moved from the
boiler house to the dining hall and from there to the Bootmaking Department as a storeman.
This latter move coincided with his appointment as Housemaster of Buxton House. H.M. King
George VI then ordered Mr. Whitbread into the Army in June, 1941, as the nation's need at
that time was greater than Goldings'. He served in the 17th Light A.A. Regiment, R.A., until
April, 1946. With this regiment, Mr. Whitbread saw service defending East Anglia, Clydeside,
and then key positions in North Africa and Italy. Even in war, opportunities existed for recreation and Mr. Whitbread was
a regular member of the Regimental football team, no mean achievement this, because most of the team were of
professional calibre. Returning to the School upon demobilization, Mr. Whitbread was soon to take over the duties of lorry
driving, and all its attendant extras, transporting goods and personnel. It is as well he is a keen sportsman for very seldom
is the lorry idle at weekends. Football teams, cricket teams, dancing partners for the boys, Monday dancing classes,
recreational outings, vocational visits to factories and exhibitions; the lorry is always much in demand.
Since hanging up his football boots, Mr. Whitbread has been secretary to the senior football sides and this task he
performs very diligently and very efficiently. I am sure Mr. Whitbread is remembered quite affectionately by hundreds of
old boys and on their behalf, as well as for the School's benefit, I wish him many more years' association with Goldings.

R. S.
Goldonian Spring 1960

Mr. A. P. Culver

'Skip' Culver, as he is affectionately known by staff and boys, came to Goldings in June, 1931,
as a storekeeper, after completing 12 years' service with the Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire
Regiment. As a professional soldier he saw service in India, China, and Malta. At the
outbreak of World War II Mr. Culver again offered his services for his country and enlisted
in,. the Royal Army Service Corps, and, spent six years touring France, Germany, Belgium,
and Holland. At the completion of hostilities he returned to Goldings to take over the duties
of Housemaster. One often hears of people being 'Jack of all trades and master of none', but
although 'Skip' has turned his hand to the majority of jobs within the School, including
teaching when staff was scarce, no one can say he was not the master of the situation he had
on hand. : Cool, calm, and collected under any conditions, are great human qualities to
possess, and Mr. Culver certainly has these qualities, 'Skipper's' greatest personal triumph
has undoubtedly been the formation of the Army Cadet Company at this School in December, 1945, and for which he was
granted the commission of Lieutenant in 1946. As the readers of the goldonian are aware from the terminal 'Cadet Notes',
the Cadets are a very live and active organization, not only within the School, but throughout the county of Hertfordshire.
Without any fear of contradiction I would say that Mr. Culver is remembered by more boys that leave the School than any
other master. Captain Culver, to give him his full title, appeared in the New Year's Honours List, 1958, Her Majesty
having graciously approved the award of the Army Cadet Force Medal and Certificate for his services to that force. .
Thank you 'Skip' for your untiring efforts on behalf of all the boys who have been through and will be coming through
Goldings.

N. T. P.
Goldonian Summer 1960

Mr. P. F. East

Mr. P. F. East was born at Canterbury in the year 1898 and was educated at Holy Cross
School. From an early age Mr. East showed a keen interest in choral singing, being a boy
chorister at Holy Cross Church. This interest he maintained, being choirmaster to the
Hertford Methodist Church for 13 years, just one of a number of offices he has held during
his 39 years' membership of the Church. Mr. East was apprenticed to the printing firm of
Messrs. Cross and Jackmon of Canterbury. His apprenticeship was interrupted by the First
World War, during which Mr. East served with the Second ist and Second 4th London
Regiment Royal Fusiliers, being engaged with the enemy in Belgium and France. Upon
demobilization he completed his time and after a short period with the Surrey Fine Arts
Press, Reigate, and the Amalgamated Press, London, Mr. East moved to Hertford and was
employed at Simson and Co., now known as Simson Shand Ltd. On the 2oth January, 1934,
he was appointed to the staff of our School printing department. As was usual in those days, Mr. East, as a shop master,
was also actively associated with one of the Houses, serving as McCall housemaster for a number of years. As could be
expected of a man of Kent, Mr. East was a keen cricketer and a regular member of the School team. The Second World
War found Mr. East in uniform again, this time as a member of the Home Guard. Later he transferred to fire-watching
duties, dividing his tours of duty between the roof of Goldings and his own residential district. Over the years of his service
to the School and to the printer trainees especially, Mr. East has been responsible for passing on the know-how to some
hundreds of young Caxtons and there must be Old Boys scattered all over the world who owe their basic training to him.
Just at present he has the worry of an impending operation at the County Hospital and I am sure all Old Boys will join the
staff and boys at the School to wish him a speedy recovery and a great measure of benefit. Over the years I have come to
appreciate his subtle wit, and his sense of humour is a quality most essential when dealing with educational standards
concurrently with printing orders from all departments of the Barnardo organization, most of which are marked 'urgent’.
He takes everything in his stride and as he is handed another urgent order he can be heard saying, 'Now come on, son, this
is wanted in the post yesterday!'

R. S.
Goldonian Winter 1960

Mr. R. H. Purkis

MR. R. H. PURKIS, brother of Mr. W. Purkis, joined the permanent staff on 4th November,
1936, after serving in a temporary capacity in the Printing Department. During the war years
he served as Aberdeen Housemaster, and undertook the duties of Chief Fire Officer at the
School. In company with the remainder of the staff, Mr. Purkis undertook many extraneous
duties including those of tractor driving and sports master, I am sure it is not generally known
that Mr. Purkis was the founder of the Bugle Band in 1941, which took the place of the School
Military Band, and which today is the Corps of Drums. If one looks at the 'Honours List' for
billiards and snooker, which hangs in the staff room, they will see the name of Mr. R. Purkis
as 'winner' and 'runner-up' on more than one occasion. He was certainly a force to be
reckoned with when it came to using a cue! Mr. Purkis has many hobbies including
photography and music, and the one that takes up most of his spare time is music. He has
been a regular member of the Hertford Town Band since its formation, and plays a euphonium and bass. This gift for
music is something he has passed on to his son, who is also a member of the Band, but is content with a smaller instrument,
the trumpet. In 1943 Mr. Purkis returned to the Printing Department and took charge of the warehouse and small plates
room, and assisted with theory instruction. With the growth of the department, the warehouse work became a full-time job,
and Mr. Purkis carried on in this capacity until 1957, when he was able to take up his duties as instructor in the machine
department once again. It seems that members of the Goldings staff are unique in their adaptability, and Mr. R, Purkis has
proved no exception.

A. E. B.
Goldonian Summer 1961

Mr. R. T. Stackwood

We are very fortunate at Goldings to have such a 'wizard' at mechanical typesetting as
Mr. Stackwood. He is one of the relatively few men in the country who is capable of operating
and teaching the three mechanical systems of typesetting, viz. Linotype, Monotype keyboard,
and Monotype caster. To the non-printer this may not seem to be anything out of the
ordinary, and I do not propose to go into the finer details of his prowess, except to say that all
three systems call for completely different techniques in fingering and mechanical detail, and
that within the trade each one is a specialist. Mr. Stackwood left school at the age of fourteen,
having spent a lot of his out-of-school time being a baker's roundsman arid a barber's lather
boy. His first full-time job was with a local builder, but after four months he was fortunate
enough to. get an apprenticeship as a compositor with Messrs. Stephen Austin & Sons Ltd of
Hertford. After serving three years at the case he was given the opportunity of becoming a
Linotype operator and in a very short space of time became very efficient at this modern method of setting type. It was as
a linotype operator that Mr. Stackwood completed his apprenticeship. In 1938 Mr. Stackwood came to the School to take
charge of the mechanical typesetting section of the Printing Department, and when the Monotype system was installed in
1951 Mr. Stackwood went to the Monotype School for nineteen weeks' training and then returned to teach all three
methods. (Monotype keyboard is one job and Monotype caster is another.) Prior to World War II Mr. Stackwood joined
the Territorial Army (R.A.) and was immediately mobilized at the declaration of war. He, along with Mr. Stevenson, now a
member of our Printing Department, were among the first 'gunners' to land on the shores of France on 'D Day', and he
counts himself very fortunate to have come through the whole ordeal 'without a scratch'. After demobilization
Mr. Stackwood signed on for a further two years' service with the T.A., and then retired from uniformed service. During
the war years Mr. Stackwood attained the rank of Battery Sergeant Major. Also after the war Mr. Stackwood studied for
his City and Guilds of London Full Technological Certificate in Compositors' Work, and in three years he had got to the
top to become a qualified teacher. Apart from his full-time job at the School he has also taught part-time at the London
School of Printing and at the Hertford College of Further Education. Socially Mr. Stackwood has always played his full
part at the School. He has assisted Mr. Whitbread with Saturday football for many years, treasurer of the Social Club,
plays for the tennis and badminton teams, and actively supports all other functions. His efforts on the stage have not
gone unnoticed either, whether as a magician's assistant, the 'villain', or female impersonator with the 'Pony Tails'.
Mr. Stackwood, his wife, son and daughter, are greatly admired and respected by all at Goldings, and rightly so too,
because as a family they have contributed unstintingly to the well-being of the School. In conclusion, as one who has
enjoyed the pleasure of Mr. Stackwood's friendship since our earliest schooldays, may I say that he sets a fine example to
all boys and staff. He seldom gets excited or bad tempered, has a wonderful sense of humour, and is always willing to give
and accept advice. As deputy head of the Printing Department, Mr. Stackwood has not given up his zest for learning, for
only this summer he gave up one week's holiday to attend a Monotype teachers' course, and has now started on a two-year
course on 'Science for Printers' at Watford Technical College.

N. T. P.
Goldonian Winter 1961